


More Than Welcome

by RomeoandAntoinette



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Intense Stress, Nohr | Conquest Route, Personal Neglect, Pre-Relationship, References to Depression, Self-Esteem Issues, Tumblr Ask Box Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 08:11:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16869328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomeoandAntoinette/pseuds/RomeoandAntoinette
Summary: Corrin suffers to cope with the burden of leading an army. As battles become harder, she doubts her own capability to pull through and protect everyone she holds dear. As hesitation begins to consume her, someone from her childhood comes running to her side. [Corrin/Jakob] [Conquest Route] [Requested by anon on Tumblr].





	More Than Welcome

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was submitted via an anonymous request on Tumblr. Anon, whoever you are, thank you so much for requesting this fic! They requested, "... an angsty pre S-support Jokamu fic." I was absolutely delighted to oblige!
> 
> READ ME: This fic contains references of battlefield violence and brief allusions to intentional, personal neglect. No graphic content, but reader discretion is encouraged.

  _How could she be so cruel?_

_Princess Corrin is supposed to be fighting King Garon, right? Why in the world is her army killing Hoshidan troops on the battlefield? It’s absolutely moronic._

_She’s cold-hearted. Just a naïve, rich princess that would rather have others do her dirty work for her. What the hell does she know of real pain?_

_That princess hasn’t suffered a day of her life, like a pampered bird. She’s nothing like us!_

_What a heartless bitch._

_I wouldn’t be surprised if her troops all died because of her idiocy._

_Let them rot, then._

Corrin gripped her fists and held her head high as she continued her stride away from the village.

The princess and her army had just saved the small, Nohrian town from a monstrous attack from a gaggle of seething beasts that had lurched forward from a random Deeprealm portal deep in the foothills of unincorporated farmland between the two warring nations.

By happenstance, Corrin’s army had been mobilizing nearby when they heard of the attack. At her order, they dropped everything to run to the village’s aid. The battle had been long and bloody, and she had even suffered a piercing blow from one of the monster’s misshapen clubs that cracked across his chest with enough force to knock the wind out of her and force her spine into the frosted earth.

Upon standing up, she’d felt her stomach shift unnaturally, but didn’t call a healer over. After all, her Dragonic qualities meant that her body would naturally deflect injuries and also recover faster than others. She told herself she would be fine while she shuddered in pure, unbridled agony.

 _“Move through the pain,”_ she told herself with deep breaths. Even as blood ran down her back, she forced her posture to remain proud and upright. _“Someone else needs that healing magic more than you. Don’t be selfish.”_

Moving any of her limbs even an inch assailed her with pain the seared her like a thousand needles.

To cope, she clutched at her Dragonstone helplessly and retained her mythical form for the rest of the battle. It was a mentally strenuous task, but it allowed her to more easily defend her allies with her bladed tail and vicious claws. It was much easier to roar through the pain that it was to scream.

Finally, the battle ended.

All the Faceless were routed and slaughtered, and the village and all its inhabitants were all safe and sound. Aside from the destruction of a few cottages and a few thatches roofs caving in, everything in the same town remained preserved.

As Corrin shifted out of her scaled form and back to that of a human, she was stunned to see that most of her injuries had already abated slightly. Something about the magic of shapeshifting had somehow forced her bones and organs back to where they belonged inside her.

Nobody would know.

Corrin lifelessly made her way with the rest of her allies through the village. Although she heard their whispers and gossipy murmurings, she kept her head held high as her army made their way back to the astral plane. The group had originally designated Hoshido as their destination. The ultimate goal, despite the multiple battles with the nation’s soldiers that were no doubt ahead of them, was still to seize the throne in the plot against Garon, the treacherous king of Nohr

 With the land’s quality waning more each passing night, each and every detour filled Corrin with manic dread that could only be relieved by the searing pain of a bloody bout on the battlefield.

Although she’d never regret providing aid to the villagers, she also knew they needed to move on immediately.

However, defending the village had resulted in too many injuries to her allies. Nobody was gravely incapacitated, but she did notice various cuts and scrapes to multiple party members. Going immediately into another battle would be akin to authorizing the murder of her friends and the defeat of their army.

Their objective would have to wait yet another day.

Guilt jabbed at her violently and incessantly. Even with Corrin trying to best to take care of everyone on the battlefield, she’d still failed them. Her heart felt as heavy as lead.

“Orders, milady?

She flashed her eyes upright to pinpoint the source of the familiar voice.

The inquiry had come from Jakob, her royal retainer and best friend. He lingered nearby while she led the troops through the glaring onlookers. The butler seemed to notice the unkind stares directed at the princess. In response, he shot back an icy scowl of his own that was powerful enough to shoo a few gossipy onlookers back a few paces.

Corrin noticed the gesture, but she couldn’t conjure the energy to move her lips and actually thank him.

She absolutely _hated_ how drained she felt.

While she debated their next move, some members of her army began to barter and speak with townsfolk to see if they could purchase any resources or medical supplies in exchange for gold. While some were willing to trade, it was evident by the turned backs and deep frowns that, despite their sacrifice to save the village, its people weren’t interested in welcoming a heretic princess and her pawns.

“We’re turning back for the afternoon,” she drawled slowly. “Let’s head out.”

Jakob nodded with finality and began to direct the others to start filing out of the village. If his promptness was anything to go by, he shared her sentiments that the best thing for everyone was to fall back and regroup.

As Corrin began to follow the others out of the town, she felt a light tug on her wrist that forced her to a gentle stop. She looked back to see Jakob, who was usually a rigid pillar of decorum in public, gently holding her arm and looking at her with a furrowed brow.

“…Milady, are you okay?” he asked, something other than simple worry gleaming in his eyes.

“…What?” she asked, not understanding at first. She looked at him as if he was trying to speak to her from underwater, with each word a muted bubble she couldn’t decipher any immediate meaning from. Everything sounded so unclear and murky.

He frowned at her confusion, especially because the question seemed so simple.

“You don’t seem well,” he clarified. Each word was delivered softly, as if he was walking on eggshells.

The realization of his sentiment hit her all too suddenly, and the weight of each word fell like a concrete slab upon her consciousness.

He asked again patiently, “Are you okay?”

There was so much she wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell him that she was so scared about the battles ahead that she hadn’t slept in days, or that she was so sick to her stomach from the smell of blood that always lingered under her fingernails that made her wretch at the idea of eating.

All she wanted was to run to him and burst into tears about how she felt that nothing would ever be okay again, and that all her friends should just abandon her and escape while they could. That way, she never had to risk failing the people she loved ever again.

She wanted to…

“…No,” Corrin whispered, offering him a sad smile before she pulled her arm from his grasp and walked ahead. She couldn’t bear to glimpse at his face as she directed her eyes down to her feet as she navigated the battlefield behind her allies.

She wanted to confide in him more than anyone else but couldn’t handle that now.

Not yet.

* * *

Upon arriving back in the astral plane, everyone that wasn’t a medic or healer immediately slinked off to either the hot springs or their respective bedrooms to relax and sleep. However, Corrin refused aid from both Izana and Elise as she mounted the stairs to her bedroom.

People like Effie and Peri made their way to the mess hall to cook for the others, and a small group of people followed the two out of a desire and need of sustenance.

When they asked their leader if she wanted any food delivered to her room, again, she refused politely and told everyone else to eat their fill without her. All she longed for was a little time alone review some maps and conjure some possible battle tactics for the army to utilize for their next battle.

The excuse seemed to go over well with everyone. In fact, they all seemed comforted by the seemingly unending diligence of their leader.

While she mounted the stairs in a zombie-like trance, the chipper voices off her allies festered behind her hears like a mass of buzzing flies.

_“Lady Corrin is so kind!”_

_“She’s so hard-working too! I wonder how she finds time to do everything?”_

_“It’s like she never sleeps.”_

As the other troops went about their business to tend to their words and fill their bellies, Corrin silently stole away once she saw her orders were no longer needed.

The young woman made her way to her room and slinked inside. Once the door shut, she tore off her armor and tossed the heavy pieces hard enough into the wooden floor to leave a series of dents. She peeled her bloody bodysuit away next and covered herself with a simple, sleeveless dress.

Corrin then padded over to the window to look out and watch over her army. While they tended to their wounds and began to repair what weapons had survived the bout, she kept her eyes on the horizon to watch for approaching enemies from the distance. If she saw anything, she could easily yell for her allies to mobilize. Even when she was supposed to be relaxing, she found herself working intentionally or by accident. However, she couldn’t help that there were a hundred different things that needed to be done and that she felt like it was her sole duty as leader to personally see to each one.

After all, the war was her fault. Her simple choice, which she’d had mere seconds to decide in a moment of Earth-shattering peril, had been the final swipe that had severed the worn thread barely tethering Nohr and Hoshido’s heavily strained relationship.

Just as she rested her cheek against the windowsill and had resigned to an evening of squinting against the impending sunset, a knock sounded at the door.

Corrin stifled the groan that was directed at the unwelcome sounds and forced her body upright with a stiff push that cracked the joints in her exhausted arms.

Crossing the room as slowly as possible, she answered the knocking at her door reluctantly. She didn’t really wish to speak to anyone, but was acutely aware that she couldn’t ignore one of her comrades if they needed assistance.

She trudged over to the door, took a deep breath to psyche herself up, and cracked it open. “Yes? Who is it?”

When she saw Jakob standing on the other side, her overly-enthusiastic façade was forgotten as the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding was instantly stolen from her throat.

“Jakob?” she asked, her eyes wide in genuine surprise at the sight of his formally-clad frame. “W…What are you doing here? You should be resting.”

He nodded in quick affirmation but didn’t seem the least bit dissuaded. “I apologize for my sudden appearance, but I…wanted to speak with you. Can it get in?”

She blinked. This was a first. Jakob never made inquiries of her, let alone asked to take some of her time to ask anything of her. Not that she minded at all. It all honestly, it was a nice change of pace for someone to seek her out without needing a favor or any form of assistance.

Although he would have never believed her if she'd told him, the butler's sudden appearance was more than welcome.

“Sure, please come in, ” she said, pleasantly surprised as she opened the door and permitted him to enter with a soft but welcoming swing of the arm. He followed suit instantly, thus allowing her to shut the door behind them.

“Well, this is a pleasant surprise,” she said with an honest smile as her hands left the door to rest comfortably at her side. For once, she could let her shoulders droop naturally and not have to worry about regally rearing back every part of her body to maintain the formal posture that her siblings, mainly Xander and Camilla, emphasized ad nauseam. “What did you want to talk about?”

She padded over to the bed to take a seat, but Jakob didn’t follow her. Instead, he simply managed a kind but distant ‘thank you’ before clearing his throat.

“I apologize for bothering you, Lady Corrin, but I wanted to ask you about earlier,” he said without hesitation. “I must confess, I'm still very still troubled by what you said.”

Ah. So that was it.

She dipped her head slowly and nodded. “I see. You wanted to check and see if I was okay. I’ll admit, my response was a little…distastefully ambiguous at the time. That wasn’t fair to you.”

Surprisingly, Jakob shook his head at her statement. When she cocked her head in clear bewilderment, he elaborated with, “With all due respect, I don’t mean that, milady. I am here to ask you about that, but it’s not because of anything you did.”

The butler paused briefly, as if poising himself, before continuing with his inquiry. “When I asked if you were okay, you said ‘no.’ That’s unacceptable, and as your butler and retainer, I cannot abide that.”

Biting her lip and cursing her former self’s discretionary sense of honesty, she reluctantly agreed with him as demurely as she could. “I suppose I did say that. I feel much better now though! I’m sorry to worry you. I suppose I was just tired, and my mind was saying things it shouldn’t.”

A silence stretched between them as Jakob inhaled with noticeable slowness.

“You sound _more_ than tired, Lady Corrin,” he finally heaved, still staring at her from across the room with the same kind eyes he’d regarded her with ever since their childhood days together. For Corrin, looking into his lavender gaze was akin staring at the kindly expression of a favorite teddy bear. He was reliable, yet familiar. Strong and soft. Trustworthy, yet protective.

He really was a close comrade, not to mention a good friend, for caring enough to notice her worn demeanor on the battlefield and then promptly following-up on it instead of resting.

While she waxed poetic of him, her stomach grumbled loudly and punctuated the silence in the room. She cursed the sound and quickly laughed to cover her embarrassment. “Sorry! I guess I should have accepted Peri and Effie’s offer for food earlier. They were on their way to the kitchen and asked if I wanted anything, but…”

She realized belatedly that she didn’t have a good excuse for refusing their offer. Instead of lying, she decided to let the sentence taper off naturally and prayed to whatever entities above that he would listen that he would pick up the next part of the conversation before they were adrift in a turbulent sea of awkwardness.

“…My apologies, I should have brought refreshments,” he said after a few moments. He’d definitely noticed her lack of an excuse, but for whatever reason, wasn’t commenting on it. The possibilities as to why threatened to reignite a familiar sense of paranoia that was becoming troublingly common for her. “I was in such a haste to see you that I must have forgotten.”

While part of her brain was still grappling with his motives, she did not his confession with piqued interest. That was another first. It was rare, borderline nonexistent, for Jakob to forgo protocol for anything. Yet, in his concern for her, he’d raced to see her and had forgotten something.

It was intriguing to the princess, but like him, she kept her comments to herself. At least, for the moment.

“You must be stressed,” Jakob insisted his soft, maddeningly kind eyes. “I mean, you’ve been forgetting to sleep and even eat, if you’ll…pardon my observance.”

She rolled her eyes and he couldn’t help but chuckle, if only briefly. “I’m sorry, but if you’re suffering as such, physically or mentally, it’s my duty to remedy that as soon as possible.”

The word ‘duty’ re-grounded her thoughts back into reality.

“I have been taking care of myself regularly, I assure you,” she commented immediately. The frankness of the words almost made it should as if she was lying. To cover, she said in a more exasperated tone, “Now, please, can we talk about something else? It’s not often that we get to speak alone, right? It’s quite an occasion. Let’s not waste it by only talking about me.”

“Lady Corrin, I…”

“ _Jakob,_ ” she refuted, sterner than before. Yet, despite everything in building up her protective wall, she heard the frantic cautiousness clear as a bell in her voice. Judging by the sudden twitch in Jakob’s brow, he’d most definitely noticed it as well.

“…When was the last time you slept?”

The words were a challenge. They were delivered in a sweet and lightly accented voice she’d known ever since childhood, but they were still an affront to her statement.

He was calling her bluff, albeit gently.

“I don’t remember,” she attempted to reply as casually as possible. She immediately cursed the words as soon as they left her mouth. “Erm…I mean, you know. Maybe a night ago? Whenever we went to bed last. When was that? Sometimes these battles are just so bad at messing with my perception. Isn' that…strange?”

His expression didn’t change as he drew a half-step closer. “What about food? When did you eat last?”

“This morning,” she replied promptly. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.

The princess’s personal victory was short lived as she saw the butler wince as if he was in pain.

“…You’re lying,” Jakob said simply. The tone was firm, but there was no bite behind his words. “Lady Corrin, I prepared breakfast this morning. You weren’t in attendance. We mobilized before I could ask you.”

No. This couldn’t be happening.

Everything around Corrin felt unsteady all of a sudden. She stood from the bed and retreated away from Jakob to another side of the room. There, she was able to turn away and stare into a corner for a moment, where she prayed she could gather her bearings before inevitably having to face him again.

“Lady Corrin?” Jakob asked again, suddenly more alert at her evident display of discomfort.

“Jakob, please…” she moaned, her face sinking into her hands slowly. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

His eyes softened as he stepped forward quietly. “Don’t tell them what?”

“That I’m… _like this_ ,” she said, pausing on the last two words as if the mere mention of them was enough to brand her tongue. “I don’t want them to worry about me. I’m just tired. I’ll be fine tomorrow.”

Her request hung in the air completely unanswered.

“Milady, please,” he said again, speaking even more slowly than before. Even when he lowered his voice, every single word was like a crashing cymbal inside her head. He could see her pain clearly and whispered, “Look at me. I…. implore you.”

Even though she knew she would regret it, she couldn’t _not_ listen to him. He was one of her closest companions and, even if he was her butler, there was nobody else in the entire world that knew her better. While her brain told her not to trouble Jakob when he was already burdened with so many responsibilities that didn’t include her petty problems, her heart screamed for her to gather her courage and face him.

She listened to her heart and turned around.

Jakob was looking at her with a pleading expression. He reached out to take her hand again in a formal attempt to try and console his childhood companion.

Upon seeing the pain in his eyes, she looked away again, seeing solace in focusing on the wood grain patterns in the wall or staring at the dents in the floor from where she tossed her armor. Any distraction would do.

However, she couldn’t bear to pull her hand from his. This time, she held onto him tightly, like she never wanted to let go.

All the while, Jakob wasn’t about to leave her be. Not when someone he cared for more deeply than anyone else was clearly in a state of pain.

With a swallow, he took another step toward her. “I’m worried about you. If you’re so stressed that you’re forgetting to take care of yourself, then—”

She couldn’t do it anymore.

Corrin whirled around to face him, her eyes wide and terrified. “Stop asking me about that. I haven’t been _forgetting_ to do anything.”

The sentence came out as a frantic stream of words because she knew if she tried to say it slowly, the terrifying confession would never leave her mouth.

Jakob’s eyes went wide with horror.

“What?” he asked, the words falling heavily from his trembling lips. His armored hand went slightly lax in hers. “What did you just say?”

Corrin’s brain blared alarms and awoke her from her frustrated trace. As the weight of her confession sank in, her sanguine eyes searched the room desperately to focus on everything and _anything_ that wasn’t the flash of pain across Jakob’s face. Guilt blended with anxiety inside her into a swirling, self-loathing whirlpool.

She wanted to run away, but it was too late. She’d gone too far.

Now, she had to explain herself. She owed him that much.

“I don’t know what to do…,” she said, trying to not shake. “I don’t know how I feel, but…it’s never good. I feel…bad. For causing this war. For putting everyone through such agony. I don’t know what to do, but sometimes, I feel better if I don’t sleep, or if I give everyone else my food. Somebody always needs something more than me, and I feel guilty taking anything for myself.”

Corrin gripped a long scar hidden beneath the fabric of her dress. It was a mark from a wound she’d never called a healer to help mend. For an entire night, she’d sobbed into her pillow until the pain ebbed.

“Maybe I limp around for a few extra days, but that’s a small price to pay,” she added, cringing as she realized how badly she was babbling. Yet, despite realizing that she was talking in circles, she also couldn’t stop. “Sometimes …I just, I don’t know, I’m just too tired to care if my body hurts or not. It’s not worth the effort, because…it’s just me, and I know I can take it. It’s nothing compared to what everyone else goes through.”

Her teammates deserved a better leader. They deserved someone who wasn’t a blubbering mess. They deserved someone who hadn’t caused a war because of her own selfish, familial ties.

She dared to look up again…and saw wetness in Jakob’s eyes.

His expression was manic, and she knew it was her fault.

A sharp throb of agony rushed through every vein in her body at the gut-wrength sight of her closest friend looking so tormented. Even worst, she was the one who had caused him pain and almost made him cry. She really was the worst.

“But it’s okay!” she flailed, gracelessly trying to recover from her blunder. “It’s fine! As long as everyone else is okay, I’m fine! I don’t care. I…really don’t.”

Her voice threatened to taper off again, this time from uncertainty.

The expression of horror didn’t leave his face as he stared back at her. His voice sounded broken as she whispered, “Lady Corrin, no…”

A jab of guilt ripped at her already mangled heart.

How cruel could someone be to a friend who had done nothing but support her since childhood? Sure, he wasn’t perfect, but he’d never caused her emotional pain, let alone brought tears to her eyes. Not even once had he done such a thing.

“Jakob…I...” she stammered, her voice fading fast. 

Then, he raised his voice high above the thick silence that had condensed between them.

“Why?” Jakob gasped, his voice vacillating in anguish. Then, he began to raise his voice. “Why? Why did you tell me!”

She’d never heard him sound so shrill and panicked before. She could even see how violently his chest was heaving through the thick layers of his uniform.

Oh gods, what had she done?

Now she’d made him truly upset, and rightfully so. Who would want to be a confidant to someone so worthless?

 She shook her head desperately, hands flying to her mouth as she frantically tried to amass her thoughts into something coherent. “Oh no. No, no, no. Jakob, I’m sorry. I just didn’t want you to worry. I didn’t want to…”

 “Do _not_ apologize!” Jakob said with surprising firmness. He continued, more softly, “You’ve done nothing wrong! I just… _dammit!_ ”

It was disorienting how frantic Jakob looked. Everything from his unhinged expression to his directionless movements as he attempted to somehow gesticulate his frustration adequately was borderline morbid to the princess, who had never seen her companion look so disheveled in her life.

After a few terrifying seconds, he lifted his head. The kind, lavender eyes that she loved so much were filled with tears.

He crossed the room in three steps and pulled her into his arms, crushing her body to his with unabashed closeness.

At this, her breath hitched high in her throat and her spine seemed to curl into her stomach.

“Jakob?” she asked, breathless in his embrace as she felt her shoulder collide softly with the back wall. When the impact reverberated through their connected bodied, he pulled her back to back sure she wasn't cornered and held her with a firmness that was consoling but not restrictive. If she truly desired too, she could have pulled away at any time.

“Corrin, please…” he begged, burying his face in her shoulder. “Please, tell me what to do. Tell me what I can do to help you.”

Her name.

He was using her name without any formal titles or other additions. The revelation shook Corrin to her core as her eyes drifted upwards to try and meet his.

“Jakob,” she said, mumbling his name softly as she glanced upward. When she saw tiny droplets from tears lingering on the lower lashes of his lilac eyes, everything seemed to click.

There was no sudden epiphany that had her jumping for joy with newfound hope, but something about the sadness in his eyes verified her pain and made everything seem a little calmer.

All of a sudden, she felt less alone.

“…Okay,” she nodded, pursing her lips tightly. Slowly, as if testing him, she lifted her arms and gave in to the temptation to wrap them around his waist. As she slung her arms around him, she could suddenly feel every slope and plane of his taller frame perfectly flush against her own. The sense of comfort she felt from his proximity was unlike anything she ever felt and, slowly, she began to inch closer and closer until their bodies were fully intertwined.

“You don’t have to promise me that you’ll feel happy all the time, but if you ever feel doubt or need help, please call for me,” he said breathlessly. All the while, he kept hugging her tightly, but never to the point of pain.

“…Really?” she asked, suddenly even more curious than before. “Are…you sure that’s okay?

“Yes,” Jakob asserted breathlessly. “Gods, of course, it’s okay! I…”

He hauled her close again, his heart cracking as he realized the crushing weight of everything she must have been silently going through up until their conversation, and how lost and alone she must have felt without any sense of comfort or anyone to turn to. It briefly reminded him of his dark days as an orphaned child. That time, Corrin had been the one to save him from the incentive of the other servants to force him out onto a cruel fate on the streets. She had saved his life that day and pulled him back from the darkness that could have very well claimed his young life.

Now, it was his turn to help her.

“What if I bother you?” she asked softly. “I mean, we're all fighting these battles together. You’re just as stressed as I am.”

“That’s not how it works,” he replied flatly. “If that was the case, nobody would ever confide in each other. That’s not what matters, Corrin. What matters is that I care about you, and I hate seeing you like this.”

“Because I’m the leader, and I have to stay strong,” she confirmed somberly. Then, before they broke eye-contact, his hands drifted upward to cup her cheeks. The touch of his gauntlet against her face was enough to make her flush.

“No,” he said, stunning her into awareness again. He replied, “Because you’re _you_. I’m not here because of this damned war or these bickering countries. I’m here for you.”

The tears that Corrin had been desperately suppressing for way too long threatened to burst forth.

“…I promise,” she said, taking a cleansing breath as she settled deeper into his arms. “I promise I won’t hide anything anymore. I just…I didn’t know what else to do. It was the only thing I could control, so I just kept, I mean…”

She found with dismay that couldn’t bear to keep talking, so she just buried her face in his chemise. She found a soft spot between his chest and shoulder that felt perfect and allowed her face to rest there, cradled in the comforting warmth of his body and the minty scent of his cologne. All the while, he listened to her mumble and occasionally speak, all while nodding along softly. His hands, still adorned in gauntlets, somehow rubbed soothing circled up and down her back without causing her any pain.

At one point, when she dared to let her composure break and her voice cracked from an impending sob, he murmured her name softly against her hair and let her cry as much as she needed to against his shoulder. When he dared to press a soft kiss against her crown, the act only made her pull Jakob even closer.

For a long while, they held each other tightly without regard for their completely inappropriate closeness. It didn’t matter if the hug was against the decorum that was supposed to exist between master and servant.

It felt right, and that was all that mattered.

“We will pull through this war, Corrin,” he promised her wholeheartedly when her tears started to cease. “I don’t know how, but we’ll do it, and you won’t be alone. We’ll do it together.”

“…I just don’t want you to worry about me,” she confessed again. She knew she was repeating herself, but she also struggled to accept his unconditional promise to her. She struggled with being honest, especially to herself. Jakob intention of staying with her every step of the way, through the good and bad, touched her on a level so deep that she thought she had to be dreaming.

Although she was still battling doubt inside her mind, the sensation of Jakob’s hand still intertwined in hers brought her back out. Once squeeze was all it too to anchor her.

“…Corrin, to be honest, I’ll most likely worry about you forever,” Jakob said gently, one of his thumbs stroking the velvety crook of her elbow. “Not that I have to worry. You’re courageous, intelligent, kind and perfectly capable of taking care of yourself. That’s…just how friendship works, I suppose. Even if someone you care about says they’re okay, you always want to be sure. I’ll probably still be bothering you, even when I’m an old man.”

For the first time in a while, she laughed legitimately. “Really?"

“I’m afraid so,” he replied with a deep chuckle. “You’ll have to get used to me, I’m afraid. My deepest condolences.”

The warmth she felt from Jakob’s body had started to seep into her and unfurl from within. The cold, lifeless dread she’d felt for so long was replaced with newfound energy and, dare she say, hope for the future.

“…So, will you stay by my side, even after all this?” she asked, lips muffled against the fabric of his shirt. “Forever?”

“Yes,” he swore devoutly. Unlike earlier, his voice didn’t falter for a second. “I’ve stayed with you this long, milady. My services are _yours._ I ask nothing in return…except that you never hurt yourself again.”

One of her unsteady hands attempted to wipe her tears away as she looked up. She knew her face was probably a reddened mess, but she couldn’t help but grin and him broadly.

Then, she sank back into his embrace again. “Thank you, Jakob. For everything.”

“…You’re more than welcome.”

The two stayed together for a few minutes, wrapped in each other’s arms behind the safety of the locked chamber door.

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like the ribbon-holder at the end of a marathon cheering someone on as they cross the finish line. If you made it, holy hell, congrats and thank you! I wish I could give you a real medal, haha! This was a long one. Thirteen pages.
> 
> Not to get too real here in the end note section, but this is probably the most personal fic I’ve ever written. It’s really obvious if you’ve read my other fics that this one is really different from the fluffy box I usually contain myself in and call home. I hope it’s not different in a bad way, haha!
> 
> Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this bittersweet romp. I’ll be back with more soon. 
> 
> Bye for now!  
> (And anon, whoever you are, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the request. I hope this fic is to your liking. <3)


End file.
